You don’t have to be a doctor to know that there are no different blood groups for Christian, Hindus, Muslims or Jews. Organ transplant matching never needs religion type; there is none Jew type kidney or a Hindu type Liver transplant.
Power, Politics and Greed are obligately dependent on our core emotion, ‘Faith’. Let us call power, politics and greed as the mercenary traits that subjugate us and exert their influence. These mercenaries capture our sacrosanct ideology, our nimble faith, our devotion towards religion and together dismantle our ethos and erode our values. We never realize when we are enslaved by these mercenary. Our struggle to liberate ourselves from this slavery is thus miserably bound and unfortunately influenced by these mercenaries. How do we transcend to liberate ourselves from this powerful grip of power, politics and greed?
As I pick up the headlines, I see a high-pitched religious shrill becoming commonplace and gradually getting the main stream. Not being a Muslim, and despite being a devout follower of my faith, I hate to hear those rants against Muslims. These days, those rants are picking up at an even faster pace.
When it comes to saving life
You don’t have to be a physician to know that there are no different blood groups for Christian, Hindus, Muslims, or Jews. Organ transplant matching never needs religious type; there is none Jew type kidney or a Hindu type Liver transplant. Only HLA and relevant information are factored in while making those transplant decisions. Religion, Caste Creed, regions, color, and ethnicity never take precedence in those decisions. I never know the water I drink if it rains from a Hindu, Muslim, or Jew cloud. All clouds are the same, and drinking that sip when thirsty is always exhilarating. The air we breathe, irrespective of the country, never knows bound. That’s life! It’s so firmly embedded and so uniform.
Politics has its own intentions
Politics is different; here, we exist as Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc. We can be further divided based on color, caste, and creed. As if these divisions are not enough, we can add more recipes and be divided based on region, language, and … The division does not stop there; we can keep dividing until we get the finite smallest benefit out of human vulnerability.
Religious Artifacts replacing Ethos and Values
This may seem counterintuitive to many simply because they presume; these values are embossed within their religion. Well, most religions have it, in different forms, including Islam. The believer within us has disappeared. We see revivalism of artifacts with most beliefs. We practice artifactual religion, not a religion of ethos.
Our Relationship with God
Religion is a private practice, not something for display. It is our pure, pious, and personal relationship with God, the almighty, and the creator. Daily, we do so many tasks that are personal and private. Do we discuss those in public or even within the family? We safeguard and treasure some of those moments and respect the nature of those interactions.
Is religion on display? Do we think we can accrue more mileage by publicly displaying our faith, our very solemn relationship with God? Do you think we will be more rewarded for displaying that faith? I often see such transactions happening in daily life, ‘If I get this, I will visit your temple or do this’. Somewhere, we have forgotten his real nature, and our small human existence has come to reconcile that we can do transactions with him too.
Ground Realities are Different
Obviously, this is a 30,000-foot view. Ground realities are different. Individual practices, preferences, and ideologies differ somewhere significantly. Somewhere, we all try to push our agenda. However, I would say it is not difficult to tolerate and leave individual practices to themselves. Why should we all be the same? Within a family, too, we have differences, we don’t look the same, and we can’t enforce views. If that is not possible in a nuclear family, why do we want to insist on our society? Can we not leave citizens to practice their ideology, faith, preferences for them to choose?
The Hijacking of Faith
ne unique and singular domain that power, politics, and human greed (of ‘me’ over ‘us’) are obligately dependent upon is faith. Let us call this trio mercenary traits. These mercenary traits exploit our vulnerability and subjugate us to exert their influence. These mercenaries have taken over our faith, our ideology, our religion, and our ethos. We never realize these mercenary traits enslave us. This is a ubiquitous phenomenon that has spread across the globe and has existed for centuries.
Human struggle is irretrievably and, may I add, miserably bound and unfortunately influenced by these mercenaries. We need to liberate ourselves from this dreaded slavery. This is the history of mankind, the torment, the pain, and the pathos; all rolled into slavery by these gruesome traits. I can’t say if this is an apocalypse in the making, but understanding the law of nature, the next wave will dismantle this chaos and bring further order. Future will unravel the mysteries of past and present. Let us see how things unfurl but until then…
Faith is supreme beyond our independence and personal freedom. Let us NOT abandon the path of real trust and faith; let us understand that faith is beyond transactions, and don’t let those mercenaries and power brokers indulge with your faith, that core element within you that defines you so uniquely.
How do we liberate ourselves?
- Respect the privacy of your faith, don’t display and don’t heed to display
- Don’t let faith influence your decisions – interpersonal, social and political
- Artifacts of religious practices are required but not essential, artifacts cannot be above faith, don’t let artifacts dominate faith
- Don’t transact with God, faith in pure sublime form is enough
It’s Not a Cliché – Humanity is true religion
It may sound cliché, but you don’t have to go in search of humanity. I met a college boy who witnessed injustice while traveling. It was hard for him to protest, but he made a choice. He just opposed and supported the victim. He did not leave college. This young kid set up an example that we can emulate without abandoning our duties.
The humanity that needs you is around you. You don’t have to contribute humungous. You don’t have to abandon your job or family while being humane. Caring for people around you should be sufficient as a first step. Let us rise to serve humanity. It is so much around us; just see who needs what and stand up to that occasion without an expectation.
Our duties towards ‘Humanity’ are endless, and if you wish to accept more responsibilities, then read this link (http://wp.me/p7XEWW-UW). Humanity is our true religion. Those who contribute towards it can feel the serene tranquility from practicing it. Let us keep service towards humanity as the face of our religion.
Interesting read:
Sanatan Dharma – a journey through time
mymilieu.org 